Dom Kennedy at Larimer Lounge, 12/03/12

Dom Kennedy hit the stage to a packed house at the Larimer Lounge last night, and, riding a wave of nostalgia, he urged, "If you're a '90's baby, put ya hands up." Rocking a fitted Dodgers hat and Stanford hoodie and backed by his OpM crew, Kennedy wooed the crowd with soulful samples and party records reviving that old West Coast fun loving style, proclaiming, "You ain't heard nobody like this since Snoop," during his song, "I Love Dom."

Before Kennedy took the stage, his road manager hyped up the crowd. "Y'all ready to see my nigga Dom? We came all the way from Cali to rock with y'all, Denver. Whats up?" After a loud response, the rapper emerged with his hoodie over his head and performed "Honeys and Money." The song, driven by a Notorious B.I.G. sample, made the crowd sway, as Kennedy climbed on the front speakers saying, "I gotta see all the people in the back. Let's do this Yellow Album shit."

The crowd, which went crazy when Kennedy performed "This is My Type of Party," turned up another notch when he dropped the Kendrick Lamar assisted "We Ball," loudly sang along with the lines, "I only fuck with playas and pimps." About 11 p.m. or so, Kennedy took a breather while a member of his OpM crew, Niko G4, who got things going just before Kennedy took the stage, returned to rock his part to "PG Girls," assisted by the rest of the crew.

Kennedy returned after they rocked another party song without his hoodie, and he went directly into "When I Come Around" and "1:25." At some point during the song, he reached out into the crowd and invited a girl in tight blue Dodgers shirt to the stage. When she made her way up to the stage, he sat her down on chair and serenaded her for a bit before performing "1997," a cut from From The West Side with Love. Kennedy brought the OpM crew back out to close the night with a song from the Young Nation album.

Earlier in the night, DJ K-Tone got things going. The all-ages show was half full by 9 p.m. with a good mixture of heads sporting snap-backs and fitted hats and plenty of young ladies out numbering the guys at the front of the stage during DJ K-tone's set. As always, K-tone rocked a Rockies fitted and played a healthy mix of local hits, treating the younger crowd to new records from Pries and Trev Rich, the newly christened rapper previously known as Rockie.

K-tone rocked for another hour getting the crowd properly warmed up for L-Keys. Easily identifiable in his thriller-type red leather coat, Keys took the stage with DJ Bigspade and got things going with the club banger "Back It Up." The crowd reacted well to every song Keys rocked. Mid set, Keys asked, "Where all my weed smokers at?" before offering up renditions of "Good Times" by Styles P and "I Got Five on It," by the Luniz.

CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK

Personal Bias: I was personally impressed with how relaxed Dom Kennedy was, along with how many people knew his material. He definitely keeps that California persona alive.

Random Detail: Just before Kennedy hit the stage, OpM member Niko G4 performed for a bit. The crowd didn't seem to know many of his joints, but his admirable performance was well received, particularly when he said, "I'm take yall to where I'm from" and then served up a song about Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles and Remy Martin.

By the Way: Larimer Lounge has a smoking area all the way in the back of the venue, and making your way through the crowd can be difficult.

If you like this story, consider signing up for our email newsletters.

We use cookies to collect and analyze information on site performance and usage, and to enhance and customize content and advertisements. By clicking 'X' or continuing to use the site, you agree to allow cookies to be placed. To find out more, visit our cookies policy and our privacy policy.